Storing and retrieving items can be laborious and time consuming, especially as the number of different items increases. For example, many companies have tens of thousands of different of items that need to be stored and retrieved. For instance, large manufacturing companies require accurate and timely storage of various parts for the products being manufactured as well as components used during the manufacturing process. Delays in retrieving the necessary components can delay the overall manufacturing process.
Similarly, retail companies, such as online retail companies, require fast and accurate picking of items sold to their customers to ensure that orders are timely fulfilled. Such online companies often stock tens of thousands of items that need to be readily available for shipment to customers. Systems that rely upon human effort to store and retrieve products in such situations tend to require more time to pick the required products and tend to have a higher percentage of errors (i.e. retrieval of incorrect items). Therefore, there is a growing need for automated systems designed to automatically store and retrieve items to improve the efficiency of order fulfillment.